Management

The board

David Evans

David is an entrepreneurial accountant focussed in early stage and high-growth medical diagnostics and life science companies.

He has a substantial track record in both taking companies through the IPO process (as Chairman) and delivering value to shareholders in the public phase of a company. He most recently achieved successful exits for BBI (4x) and Scipac (exit achieved within 12 months of joining) as well as creating substantial uplifts in value for Epistem (3x) DxS (10x) and IDS (18x).

David also has substantial M&A activity including cross-border with over 20 transactions in the diagnostics/life sciences space.

The board

Nick Kerton PhD, FRIC
Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Kerton has a unique combination of experience in the specialty chemical and molecular diagnostic testing industries. Having completed a Ph.D. in Organic Synthetic Chemistry at Nottingham University with Professor Gerry Pattenden, Dr. Kerton joined the Wellcome Foundation as a Research Scientist. He left Wellcome to join DuPont, in its Clinical and Instrumentation Division. Whilst there, he progressed to the role of European Business Development Manager, responsible for the identification of new business opportunities for DuPont in the emerging biotechnology industry. Dr. Kerton then moved to Whatman Reeve Angel PLC, a £50m business, as International Marketing Director with a specific interest in developing and establishing new businesses opportunities. Subsequent to this position, Dr. Kerton moved into the area of rapid methods in microbiology as Managing Director of Malthus Instruments, a subsidiary of Radiometer of Denmark. He then became a member of the management team who established Celsis PLC and went on to launch the Company successfully on the UK Stock Market. Over the last 9 years, Dr. Kerton has moved back into the pharmaceutical and drug discovery market, joining Maybridge in 1999 as C.E.O. and led the successful sale of Maybridge to Fisher Scientific International. Dr. Kerton is currently the non-Exec Chairman of Lab 21 funded by Merlin Biosciences (UK).

The board

Nick Walters BCom, CA
Chief Financial Officer

Nick has worked as both adviser and as Finance Director/Chief Financial Officer to a variety of companies in a career spanning 25 years. Originally with PricewaterhouseCoopers, he later joined MCR Holdings where he has worked for over 10 years in many different industry sectors from engineering, manufacturing, retail and healthcare to name a few – taking Finance Director positions in all. Was also Finance Director to a highly successful business start up providing innovative software development solutions. At MCR Holdings he advises banks, private equity firms and other financial institutions on a variety of issues relating to the performance or financial structure of their investee companies.

Nick is a graduate of Edinburgh University and a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

The board

Kit Hunter-Gordon
Chairman & Managing Partner, Seraphim Capital

Kit worked for JP Morgan in New York and London before moving to J Rothschild in 1983. In 1985 Kit founded The Summit Group which became a diversified financial group encompassing vendor finance, property investment and services, structured finance and insurance many of which commenced as start up operations. By 1991 Summit had total assets of over £500 million. In 1999 Kit and his management colleagues returned surplus capital to shareholders and bought out all the other shareholders' interests. The Summit Group continues to invest in early stage businesses retaining either majority or substantial minority interests and actively participates in their management.

The board

Emma Palmer Foster

Emma Palmer Foster is a consultant with almost 20 years experience in the European pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector, via investment banking, financial communications, investor relations, journalism and technology transfer. Exploiting a gap in the strategic consultancy services available to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in Europe, Emma established EJ Palmer Consulting in 2007. EJPC advises companies on corporate and financial strategy, IR and communications, and has worked with around 20 clients in a range of areas, including Board roles. Following an MA in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford, Emma started her healthcare career in science journalism and technology transfer, followed by seven years as an equities analyst in the City. At WestLB Panmure, the Life Sciences franchise during the late 1990s/early 2000s was one of the leading fund raising and transaction drivers in the European biotech sector, and so she has extensive deal experience. Later Emma established the financial communications and investor relations practice at Northbank Communications, and then joined ING Wholesale Markets to head up European Healthcare Corporate Finance. Emma also has an MBA from the University of Durham, is a Trustee of the mental health charity MPF Counselling and a Visiting Fellow at Durham Business School. She is a Member of the UK Investor Relations Society, holding its Certificate in IR, and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.

The board

Arthur Cole

Arthur is a senior executive with over 25 years international experience in Biotechnology and Diagnostic markets. Arthur is currently Managing Partner of Debon Strategic Partners. Previously he held a number of roles, including Executive Vice President Europe for Visible Genetics (which was acquired by Bayer in October 2002), and Vice President New Business Development, for Pharmacia Biotech a €500M Swedish based Biotech supply company that was acquired by Amersham Plc.

The board

Max Bautin

Max has worked with Nigel Brown since 2001, first building the seed part of IQCP's business and then leading the fundraising of the IQ Capital Fund. He has invested in over 30 high-technology companies including Artimi, Camrivox, DanioLabs, OnRelay, Revieworld, Quotient, ShortFuze and Transversal.

Max started his career in Millicom and then Metrosvyaz, private equity vehicles investing in mobile telecoms companies in Eastern Europe and developing countries. He holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.

Max enjoys flying sailplanes and riding sport motorcycles.

The board

Ivan Griffin

Ivan makes and manages investments in the Healthcare sector for NESTA Investments. Prior to joining NESTA Ivan spent four years at IP Group, where his role encompassed all aspects of technology commercialisation, including identification of investment opportunities, spin-out company formation, business and corporate development as well as private and public equity financings and trade sales. Before joining IP Group Ivan spent two years at Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust, and a year in post-doctoral research where he published several scientific papers. Ivan holds an M.Sc. and D.Phil. in Cognitive Neuroscience from New College, Oxford.

The board

Brent S. Gaylord PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Cofounder

Brent Gaylord Dr. Gaylord received his Ph.D. for the study of Light Emitting Conjugated Polymers for Use in Biological Detection Platforms and is responsible for directing and performing Sirigen's critical research and development. In his work as a graduate student at the University of California Santa Barbara and in collaboration with his advisor, Professor Guillermo C. Bazan and the Nobel Prize winning physicist, Professor Alan J. Heeger, Dr. Gaylord invented Sirigen's proprietary technologies and subsequently cofounded the Company. Prior to joining the University of California Santa Barbara, he obtained a B.S. in Chemistry-Material Science Engineering and a minor in Mathematics from the United States Air Force Academy. Dr. Gaylord's experience in chemistry and materials science is extensive, which has resulted in several major accolades including the American Institute of Chemists Foundation award.

Executive management team

Adrian Palmer PhD
Director of Science

Dr Palmer brings a blend of scientific and commercial skills to the organisation. Dr Palmer gained his Ph.D. from Durham University in the U.K. where he evaluated a promising novel approach for the diagnosis of neuroblastoma, a common paediatric tumours and one with a strong correlation of favourable outcome with early diagnosis. On the basis of his thesis he went on to 7 years of successful research funded by the British Heart Foundation. Dr Palmer was the recipient of numerous BHF grants in his time at the Institute for Cardiovascular Research in Leeds and later the department of Surgery at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Dr Palmer decided the life of the tenured academic did not hold sufficient appeal and took a technical position with Roche in the UK, where he worked with Roche Applied Science and Roche Molecular Diagnostics. During 8 years he worked in several departments, acquiring Chartered Institute of marketing qualifications and Institute membership during his term in Sales and Marketing for Roche Applied Science instrumentation. On the basis of his technical ability Dr Palmer was seconded to a global position in Penzberg, Germany before returning to the UK.

Having gained a wealth of commercial experience Dr Palmer joined Lab 21, a dynamic newly founded organisation providing diagnostic services to healthcare and pharmaceutical market segments. He initially worked in Business Development before managing the pharmaceutical business unit where he was responsible for acquiring 2 of the Big 5 pharmaceutical companies as long term clients within his first year.

Dr Palmer was pleased to join Sirigen where he provides a strong commercial focus to the technical direction of the Company.

Executive management team

Gerald Martin PhD
Product Manager

Having gained his Ph.D. from Dublin University (Trinity College) in Ireland, Dr Martin went on to two post-doctoral research positions in the Beatson Institute (as part of Glasgow University’s Department of Radiation Oncology) and Cambridge University (Department of Diagnostic Development affiliated with the Department of Haematology) where he studied detection methodologies for minimal residual disease in leukaemia and field-based detection of Chlamydia trachomatis infection.

Dr Martin then joined Cruachem Ltd, a leading manufacturer of nucleic acid synthesis reagents and oligonucleotides, where he held a number of roles including Product Manager, Marketing Manager and Business Development Manager. While at Cruachem, Dr Martin developed supply agreements with several major Oligonucleotide Manufacturers as well as Pharmaceutical and Drug Discovery Companies, and designed and implemented a program which doubled Cruachem’s own oligonucleotide sales value in one year. In 2006, Dr Martin took up the position of Consumables Product and Marketing Manager at Transgenomic Limited, the manufacturer of Mutation Detection equipment and kits. Dr Martin was made EC Authorized Representative for Transgenomic’s CE-IVD SURVEYOR^® Scan K-RAS Mutation Detection Kit and acted as project manager for the development of subsequent BRAF and PIK3CA kits.

Dr Martin was excited to join Sirigen in September 2011 and brings a broad range of experience to the role of Product Manager.

Executive management team

Sheila Brown

Biography to follow